Tamil Nadu Army deserter reunited with family after 13 years

THANE: A 45-year-old Indian Army deserter, who hid his identity and had abandoned his family for 13 years, was reunited with his kin by authorities at civic-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj hospital in Kalwa recently.

R Vadivelan, a gunner with the artillery wing, went absent without leave in 2006, when he was directed to report to Kashmir for duty. The then 32-year-old Vadivelan, who spent seven years in the regiment, with postings in Delhi and Nashik, decided against accepting his deputation and fled from home, hiding his identity and working as a porter at Kalyan and Ambernath railway stations to make ends meet. A leg injury, which aggravated and got maggot-infested, forced him to seek medical attention, where he revealed his identity after much persuasion. “When a gunny bag of coconuts fell on his feet, he choose to stay away from hospital. But the wounds turned serious, the flesh was evident and it was under attack by maggots. We attached an external fixator to the leg, for the bones to hold. Once the bones get solid, it will have to be removed,” said Dr Abhay Kulkarni, HOD of orthopaedics. He was at hospital for almost two months and did not give his family details as the hospital wanted to send him home. “We wrote to his family in Bargur taluka, Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, but no one responded. We called the district police, who contacted local police, and informed his family. The family could not believe it as they thought he must have died by now. We made a video call, when his mother, sister and uncle cried with joy, seeing him after almost 13 years. They took him home the next day. The family said they did not receive our letter,” said Kundalik Amle, social service superintendent. Vadivelan said he choose to absent himself from duty as he did not want to go to Kashmir, and there was little scope to return home as his father, an ex-serviceman, would have got upset.

“I feared serving in Kashmir, so I decided to stay back. I could not go home as my father, who is from the military, would have got livid, and I feared him. I stayed at platforms and worked as a porter,” Vadivelan said. The wound drove him to the hospital, where the medical team helped him to reconnect with his family.